of the new census is that nearly a third of India's
tigers live outside tiger reserves, a situation that
is dangerous for both human and animal. Prey
and tigers can only disperse if there are recog-
nized corridors of land between protected areas
to allow unmolested passage. No less critical,
such passages serve as genetic corridors, essential
to the long-term survival of the species.
to see an idealistic
map of Asia's tiger landscapes linked by arteries
of these not-yet-existent corridors. A spiderweb
of green tendrils weaves tantalizingly among core
populations to form a network that encompasses
breathtaking extremes of habitat---Himalayan
foothills, jungle, swamp, deciduous forest, grass-
lands---that pay tribute to the tiger's adaptability.
Close scrutiny breaks the spell. e places that
have actual tigers---here-and-now, esh-and-
blood tigers---as opposed to hypothetical tigers,
are represented by a scattering of mustard-
colored blobs. The master plan represents a
visionary undertaking, but is it feasible? Over
the next decade, infrastructure projects---the
kind of development that o en destroys habi-
tat---are projected to average some $750 billion
a year in Asia.
"I've never met a head of state who says, 'Look,
we're a poor country, if it comes between tigers
and people, you just have to write o tigers,'" said
Alan Rabinowitz, a renowned authority on tigers
and the CEO of Panthera. " e governments
don't want to lose their most majestic animal.
ey consider it part of what makes their coun-
try what it is, part of the cultural heritage. ey
won't sacri ce a lot to save it, but if they can see
a way to save it, they will usually do it."
Seeing a way has proved di cult amid the
plethora of tiger strategies, programs, and ini-
tiatives jostling for attention---and funding. e
U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's
Save the Tiger Fund (which has now partnered
with Panthera), Global Tiger Patrol, Saving Wild
Tigers, All for Tigers!, WWF, Wildlife Conser-
vation Society (WCS), Panthera, International
Year of the Tiger Foundation, the National Geo-
graphic Society's Big Cats Initiative---the list is
impressive. "Five to six million dollars is spent a
year for tigers, from all philanthropic organiza-
tions," said Mahendra Shrestha, former director
of the Save the Tiger Fund, which gave grants
totaling more than $17 million between 1995
and 2009. "In many instances the NGOs and
tiger-range governments just ght each other."
Long-term conservation must focus on all
aspects of a tiger landscape: core breeding popu-
lations, inviolate sanctuaries, wildlife corridors,
and the surrounding human communities. In
an ideal world, all would be funded; as it is,
di erent agencies adopt di erent strategies for
di erent components. With time running out,